Just Like Daddy
by Scotia Daniel
Summary: When Magdalene Hamato finds her father's bandana, she puts it on and thinks about the one ninja who she aspires to be when she grows up.


"Daddy? Dad? Daaad?"

Magdalene Hamato poked her head into her parents' room, the study, and her room as she walked through the house. She had been looking for her father for the past five minutes and she was getting a little frustrated.

"Daddy?" She walked down the stairs and poked her head into the kitchen where her mother, April, sometimes worked with a cup of coffee in hand at the kitchen table. Her mother was at work that day with an emergency at the science center. It left her and her father alone for the day, but about an hour ago her father had disappeared.

Maggie blew a piece of hair out of her face with a huff and peeked into the living room and even checked outside of the old farmhouse she and her parents lived in. Nothing.

The seven year old pouted back inside to return to her room to play with her toys by herself when a flash of purple caught her eye. Maggie backtracked and looked at the object on the counter of the kitchen more closely. It was her father's mask.

Maggie looked all around before turning back to the purple cloth. She picked it up with her small hands and held it up to the light. Sure, she had seen her father without his mask numerous of times, but it was still odd to find the mask by itself.

The little girl turned it over a few times in her hands before putting it up to her face and glancing through the holes created for Donatello's eyes. Maggie forgot how much bigger her dad was compared to her in times like those.

She tied the mask to her head and looked around the kitchen as though she were expecting something magical to happen. Nothing really did, but the girl grinned none the less.

Wearing her dad's bandana made her feel like...a superhero! Suddenly Maggie felt mysterious and like the heroes she read about in her uncles' comic books and on T.V. But most importantly, she felt like her dad.

Maggie hopped onto the counter and struck a pose she had learned with Jiijii Splinter. She round house kicked off and landed gracefully on the wooden floor. Immediately she jump up and back flipped and threw some punches when she landed. She spun around with a high kick.

Her foot was caught by a giant green hand and she lost her balance, falling backwards. Maggie sat up and looked into the face of her father. The man grinned at her and kneeled down so that they were eye to eye. Maggie smiled sheepishly up at her dad who only grinned wider.

"Becoming an identity thief now, are we?"

He brushed his finger along the fabric and Maggie giggled and shook her head. "Who? Me? Naaah!"

"Good! Your stances look great, sweetie. You're really improving. In no time, you'll be a great kunoichi, just like your mother and Auntie Karai. And pretty soon you'll be able to kick daddy's butt! Won't that be the day!"

Maggie stood up and hugged her father tightly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I love you, daddy."

Donatello wrapped her in his arms and placed a kiss on her temple. "I love you too, my little Sakura pedal."

Donatello stood up and ruffled his hand through her hair. Maggie closed her eyes and smiled, feeling the love he put into his touch. She smiled up at him and watched as he took a glass of water from the kitchen before heading to a wooden door and disappearing down into the basement where his lab was set up.

Maggie smiled, remembering his words: 'In no time, you'll be a great kunoichi, just like your mother and Auntie Karai.' The thought of that made her happy. She wanted to master what her uncles and grandfather had taught her over the years. Master the stances and techniques and weaponry...but she didn't want to be like her mother or Aunt Karai, nor did she really want to be the kind of ninja her uncles were. Maggie brought her hands up to the mask on her face and smiled. When she grew up, she didn't want to be like the rest of her family. Instead, she wanted to grow to be as strong and powerful of a ninja as her dad was. And with that, she went outside to practice her art so she could be just like daddy.

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